244 DIVERSIONS OF A NATURALIST 



the reservation of the hand for delicate exploring opera- 

 tions, and the bringing of objects near to the eye, to the 

 nose, the ear, and the mouth for investigation by the 

 great organs of special sense. The foot has become 

 " plantigrade " in connexion with the assumption of 

 upright carriage. It has independently become planti- 

 grade in the gibbons and the baboons. That is to say, 

 we and they do not walk on the edge of the half-grasping 

 foot as do the gorilla, chimpanzee, and orang, but more 

 steadily and firmly on its flat sole (plantar surface), as do 

 the bears and some other animals. At the same time 

 man has lost very greatly (but not entirely) the power 

 of grasping with his toes. The upright carriage enabled 

 the early ancestors of man to survey, and so to judge 

 the conditions of safety or danger at a distance from 

 them, as well as to devote their hands to new and special 

 uses. 



